Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service - The Scottish Centre for Personal Safety, Ardrossan

Social distancing was one of the new arrangements that had to be put in place for the recent presentation of a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service to the Scottish Centre for Personal Safety, who are based in a former church in Ardrossan, to ensure compliance with Covid 19 guidance.
The Scottish Centre for Personal Safety provides personal safety advice and training to a variety of groups and individuals and in particular to victims of violence and vulnerable people. They have helped over 3,500 people over the last 20 years and in the last year helped almost 100 registered blind people gain confidence and renewed self-esteem through their personal safety training for the blind and visually impaired.
It is operated by volunteers are from all walks of life, the youngest being 17 years old, the oldest being 81 years old. Backgrounds include a university student, a Police Officer, a Community Youth Worker, a Vulnerable Adult Manager, a Bar Manager, a Duke of Edinburgh Award Regional Manager (Scotland), two injured Veterans and two Registered Blind volunteers. Many are instructors teaching personal safety skills, some are Board members, some help man the reception desk. Some have
been with the group for 20 years (they formed in 1997) and some have only recently volunteered in the last two years.
The Lord-Lieutenant, Sheriff Iona McDonald, OBE, said “In these strange and challenging times it was my great pleasure to return to a degree of normality to present this award to such a well deserving group who have done so much to support the more vulnerable members of our community. Volunteers are very much the unsung heroes of our communities and many services could not be provided without their assistance”